Unauthorized Practice and Use of Title

Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia (the "association") has a statutory duty under the Engineers and Geoscientists Act to protect the public interest by taking action to stop:

• Unauthorized practices of professional engineering and geoscience, and
• Unauthorized uses of restricted words, titles, and designations associated with the engineering and geoscience professions.

The Risk of Unauthorized Practice

Public safety and the environment are at risk when unregulated persons provide engineering or geoscience services to the public, for the following reasons:

• Unregulated persons may not be qualified by training or experience to provide engineering and geoscience services in accordance with the appropriate standards in British Columbia,
• Unregulated persons are not bound by the Code of Ethics and the Quality Management Bylaw (Bylaw 14(b)), which requires, among other things, that association members retain complete project documentation for 10 years and that they follow checking procedures appropriate for the risks associated for each project,
• Unregulated persons do not have to submit to random practice reviews, or the complaint, investigation, and discipline processes provided by the Engineers and Geoscientists Act, and
• Unregulated persons are not required to notify their clients in writing of their insurance coverage before providing professional engineering or geoscience services, as association members are required to do under the Bylaws of the association (Bylaw 17).

Making a Complaint

The association will review all relevant information provided by complainants. Where evidence indicates that an individual or company has engaged in unauthorized practice or misuse of title, the association will take the necessary steps to bring the individual or company into compliance with the Engineers and Geoscientists Act. Usually, those individuals and companies will voluntarily comply with the association's demands. However, if noncompliance persists, the association has the statutory authority to commence a Court proceeding against the noncompliant individual or company and seek an injunction and exemplary damages.

Publication

For the purpose of alerting and educating the public, Engineers and Geoscientists BC publishes Court Orders that it obtains in unauthorized practice cases, and the settlement agreements that it obtains in serious cases that are settled without Court process.